Sunburn

Sunburn

The Science:

Many types of solar radiation filter through our atmosphere and reach the surface of the earth. Visible light is lovely, but ultraviolet light is higher energy and can damage molecules like DNA. DNA damage often comes in the form of thymine dimer formation, when two neighboring “Ts” bind together. When cells replicate, mutations can occur in DNA at the dimer sites. If these mutations are in genes that regulate how often a cell divides (oncogenes), the mutation can cause cancer. Don’t forget the sunblock, y’all!